The U.S. Board of Geographic Names voted to approve a new name for this week’s highest peak in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Clingmans Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will now be known as Kuwohi, the Cherokee name for the mountain, which translates to “mulberry place.”
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians formally requested the name change proposal in January.
Clingmans Dome is now Kuwohi (pronounced kuh-whoa-hee). A few years ago, tribes were allowed to apply for the restoration of longtime names of especially sacred places. The EBCI applied with support from county commissions in NC and TN. The USGS unanimously approved Kuwohi. pic.twitter.com/LFMNcAtpuw
— Friends of the Smokies (@SmokiesFriends) September 19, 2024
“Kuwohi is a sacred place for the Cherokee people and is the highest point within the traditional Cherokee homeland. Kuwohi is visible from the Qualla Boundary, the home of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians,” the National Park Service (NPS) explained.
“Clingmans Dome has always been known as Kuwohi to the Cherokee People,” the NPS added.
The mountain known to the public as Clingmans Dome was named in 1859 by geographer Arnold Guyot, who had conducted a survey of it at the time.
The geographer named the mountain Clingmans Dome after Thomas Lanier Clingman, a lawyer, U.S. Representative and Senator from North Carolina, and Confederate Brigadier General.
Great Smoky Mountains Superintendent Cassius Cash applauded the name change, saying, “The Great Smoky National Park team was proud to support this effort to officially restore the mountain and to recognize its importance to the Cherokee People.”
“The Cherokee People have had strong connections to Kuwohi and the surrounding area, long before the land became a national park. The National Park Service looks forward to continuing to work with the Cherokee People to share their story and preserve this landscape together,” Cash added.
Clingmans Dome, now Kuwohi, is one of the most popular sites in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, attracting more than 650,000 visitors per year.
In addition to being the tallest point in Tennessee, the mountain is also the third-highest summit east of the Mississippi River.
– – –
Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
